Alfa Romeo 4C – Production Version Revealed

Two years after it made its world debut as a concept car at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the Alfa Romeo 4C comes to the 2013 Geneva show as a complete car, heading into production this summer. On this occasion, Alfa released the first pictures of the production 4C and confirmed its specifications.

Good news is, the finished production is every bit as awesome as they said it would be. What we have here is a very lightweight (under 1,000 kg) rear-wheel-drive, compact Italian sports car. That is a mouthwatering recipe.

The 4C doesn’t have a particularly powerful engine, but because it is so light – it’s made from a blend of carbon fiber and aluminium – it has the incredible power to weight ratio of 4 kg/HP. The ‘4’ in its name refers to this fact. It is also a hint at the number of cylinders the car’s 1750 Turbo Petrol direct injection all-aluminium engine has.

By utilizing technologies such as direct fuel injection, dual continuous variable valve timing, a turbocharger and a revolutionary scavenging control system, Alfa engineered has basically eliminated the turbo lag. It is yet to be confirmed, but the word is 4C’s engine is good for at least 230 horsepower. It is mated to a TCT automatic twin dry clutch transmission.

The drivetrain comes with Alfa’s DNA selector which not only features the three standard settings available until now – Dynamic, Natural and All Weather – but also a fourth mode: Race. Sadly, it seems that that twin-clutch is the only transmission offered and there is no manual option.

Alfa Romeo 4C will be produced at the Maserati production plant in Italy. Prices are expected to start from around 55,000 Euro, and the production is apparently going to be limited. We’ll have the official details on this closer to the Geneva show.